Serendipity just brought together two great points that will make any social media marketer think.

Electronista wrote about a report signifying a new trend among record labels: opting out of new subscription based services such as Rdio and Spotify. Long story short, a lot of plays is not being correlated with a lot of revenue. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

My friend Paul from Black Lab (a great Indie rock band) recently wrote a post that sums up his arguments as to why the band’s music wouldn’t be available on Spotify. Once again – getting paid is important. Money lets you feed a family and have a roof over your head.

Then I saw a retweet from @FauxMusicSupe (a parody music supervisor account) that summed it all up. In this brave new world, where marketing metrics are indeed shifting, sometimes exposure is getting too much credit. Too much exposure, without actual business goals being achieved might fool you for awhile, but eventually it will kill you. You can’t eat air.

How are you capitalizing on exposure to actually make money?

Some things are impossible to plan for.

Use failure to plan

There’s a lot of talk about failure being a backhanded gift; a learning opportunity in disguise. This is true, but only if you take advantage of it. Want to maximize the learning? Use failure to plan.

Exercise physiologists have proven that there is an optimal window for refuelling your body after an intense workout. After about 2 hours, you can still get the nutrition into your body – but the effects won’t be as good. Failure’s kind of like that.

Imagine you’ve just taken the stage to give a presentation, and something goes wrong. Think about the rush of emotion, adrenaline, and chaos that starts to play out in your body. As you walk off the stage, the adrenaline gives way to a blur of thoughts. Sentences resembling why didn’t I…., I can’t believe I…., and If only I had… own the moment.

This is your window. This is the magic hour for doing better next time. This is where you grow.

Your mind will protect you from dangerous things

If you’ve ever experienced a traumatic event, if enough time has passed, you will recognize the mind’s ability to make things go away. Ironically, it’s not the actual event that goes away, it’s often the tiny details. As time passes, we protect ourselves from the anguish, emotions and corrective self-talk. We build walls so that we don’t feel the adrenaline anymore.

Failure is a traumatic event. So, once the post-failure window passes – damage control sets in. We unconsciously start to forget.

It wasn’t so bad. I survived. Whatever. .

Build your action plan now

Nothing ever goes exactly as planned. There’s always room for improvement; so for a minute, let’s be pessimistic and say that everything we do contains some element of failure. Optimistically, this means everything we do contains some potential for learning. Take advantage of it.

Here are some things that have helped me:

• Build and rehearse a procedure now (before you’re full of adrenaline and emotions), that you will use every time you have a post-event learning moment. Whether its a notebook, a voice recorder or a trusted friend that you talk to – make sure you know where you’re going to catch those corrective thoughts when they start to fly.
• Schedule it – Book the time now, so you won’t run away and hide from the moment. I often take 30 minutes to jot down notes about a presentation within an hour of it being over.
• Structure it. Use a template or a common format to force yourself to put down positives and negatives. This way you don’t gloss over the bad parts, and you force yourself to find good things.
• Let it go – Once you’ve documented all of the what-if’s, you can park them on paper. Once they’re out of your mind – the danger is gone, things are taken care of, you’ll be able to sleep at night. And when you wake up, you can start taking action.

A perfect example? I was supposed to moderate an important webinar today. The technology completely fell apart. After 15 minutes of struggle, we threw in the towel and rescheduled.

In the moment, it sucked; a lot.

In the aftermath, my mind was flooded with if only we had…. But now after a structured time to reflect, we’ve circled the wagons, made the strategy more bulletproof and we’re ready to go again.

This strategy works well for me – how about you?

Photo Credit: Realworldracingphotog

How often do these words rattle around in your skull?
It’s all been said before

Sometimes the words are the building blocks of a good excuse. I use this all the time with blog posts and ideas for books. Some might call it writer’s block, Merlin Mann would call it an excuse: I can’t possibly write anything new… it’s all been said before..”

Sometimes, the sentiment is a reactionary damper on an idea that struck you as revolutionary; a manifestation of deep-seated disbelief in our own abilities. There’s no way I came up with that; I’m sure someone has already done that before.

Sometimes, it’s an opportunity.

You don’t have to dream it up every time

I was recently chatting with some folks who specialize in leadership education. As we went through leadership topics, from Lifehacker to Zen Habits to Gretchen Ruben’s Happiness Project – we encountered a recurring theme. Little of this is new information. It’s all been said before! And It’s true; many of the realizations from The Happiness Project were already summed up by Dale Carnegie – decades before Gretchen ever realized she was sad.

Does that make her book any less valuable to her readers?

Does that make it any less valuable to her as a New York Times best-seller?

Or did she make it new by saying it in her own way?

I’ve often looked at Malcolm Gladwell and wondered if he’s ever had an original thought in his life. But, now I realize I’ve been falling for the trap of it’s all been said before. Does Gladwell simply tells stories, facts, and figures that were already told by other people? Certainly. But does he make it all new by saying it in his own way? The sales of his books seem to indicate he does.

If Seth Godin were to read about the cage of it’s all been said before, he’d likely attribute it to the lizard brain; a vestigial apparatus on our brainstem designed to protect us from taking big risks. And he’d probably be right, after all, he did write a book about it. But guess what – that’s all been said before too. Steve Pressfield wrote about this extensively in The War of Art; and Paul McLean discussed the different parts of the human brain as early as the 1950′s.

So if it’s all been said before, what are we supposed to do?

That’s the secret

Don’t worry about it.

I remember a discussion I had with a singer about a song on his latest record. “It’s one of the best songs I’ve written in years,” he said. “I worked on it for a week, until I had it just right. And then, I realized, parts of the melody sound like something I released 5 years ago”.

You know what he did? He released it anyway. And no one noticed. The new song had new lyrics, new emotions, and new melodies on top of a familiar sound. It was a new experience.

Whether you’re building marketing campaigns, writing a novel or building a website – stop worrying about whether it’s all been said before.

Unless you were given a photocopier instead of a mind – remove the phrase from your vocabulary. Take whatever thoughts come to you, apply it to the context of your world, paint it with your brushes, in your colours, and let it go.

We’re not always blessed with world-changing new ideas, but apply your context and your spin, and your story can make all the difference in the world.

And when you do have one of those rare ideas that no one has ever had before? Maybe, if you’re lucky, someone, someday might give it new colours, new life, and make it resonate differently with an entirely new audience.

These things all sit there because, by not interacting with them, I have been led to believe they will appreciate in value.

Your customers are not baseball cards

Somewhere in your organization are collections of your customers. They’re pressed into database tables like baseball cards. Like unread comic books, their stories remain untold. You don’t interact with them, because if you did; someone is afraid you might bend the corners or put a crease on the page.

By keeping them safe, perfect, untouched… you’ve been led to believe that they will remain valuable to you.

People don’t like being in collections

Give this a try. The next time you interact with a customer (or even a friend), ask them for their email address or phone number. Tell them “I’m going to add you to my marketing database, so I can extract value from this relationship when the time is right for me.”
That bristling sound you hear will be all of the proof that you need. People are not baseball cards. Confirmed.

Try bending the corners

Here’s an A/B test to run, and I hope someone gives it a shot.

Segment your database in half. Start a dialogue with half, via email, for example. Send them all a note asking what’s new in their jobs, what’s changed since you last saw each other, what challenges they’re facing these days. Ask them how you can help. Tell them you’re open to their suggestions as to how you can help them win.

Leave the other half to “collect value”, safely protected in their cozy database cells, and only bother them when you’re ready to cash them in.

Track the engagement of the two groups over time. Which group opens your emails? Which group engages with your offers? Which group buys more stuff? Recommends you to their friends? Who has the largest lifetime value?

As a customer, which group would you rather be in?

Photo Credit: Adam Glasgow

Like so many others, I’m always trying to get more done. I’m wired to achieve productivity by brute force: prying my eyelids open for extended periods of sleep deprivation, telling myself it’s all going to be worth it in the end.

I’ve tried all sorts of different approaches, from David Allen’s Getting Things Done, to Rescue Time software, with variable success. Lately, inspired by Leo Babauta from Zen Habits, I’m trying a new approach: productivity through mindfulness.

What are you doing?

Mindfulness is all about paying attention to the moment you’re in. If you’re cooking, then cook. If you’re reading, then read. If you’re eating, then eat. This is a great strategy to get more enjoyment out of your days, but I’m finding it’s also a great way to get more done.

Stop doing that thing

Here’s a mission for your Monday morning. You’re going to need a blank sheet of paper.

Choose your most important task that you need to achieve in your day. Write it at the top of the page in big bold text.

Next to it, write down a your starting time, and a realistic time for when you’d like to have that task accomplished.

Now draw a line across the page.

Start working

Be mindful of what you are doing. Whenever your mind strays, and you catch yourself doing or thinking about something that is not your main task, write down the specifics of your distraction. (This includes checking Twitter or Facebook) Timestamp your distraction.

When you complete the task, make a note of the time at the bottom of the page.

Your habits uncovered

The first time you try it, you’ll probably be on best behaviour. Try it for a few days, with a new sheet of paper for each task. You’ll find your habits start to reveal themselves. You’ll also see if you’re routinely taking longer than expected to get things done.

If you’re honest with yourself and don’t cheat – you’ll probably notice some patterns. You can now use your self-reported task logs to analyze and optimize your productivity.

Analyze

Analyze the results using three questions: what, when, why?.

What: What was the distraction? Did you check your email? Maybe randomly switched tasks? Did you randomly visit a website just to see what was going on?

When: Check the time stamps for your distractions. This gives you an appreciation for your length of focus.

Why: Why did you become distracted… this one is key. Was it your email alert sound? Did a co-worker start a conversation? Did you suddenly want to read the news/facebook/twitter?

Optimize

Often, mindfulness alone will improve your performance. Acknowledging and correcting your habits will take you even further.

If any of the distractions can be eliminated right away, get rid of them. Turn off alert sounds, send your phone to voicemail, have a tough conversation with chatty co-workers (or invest in good headphones).

Use the time stamps to schedule some breaks. Remember mindfulness. When you’re taking a break, focus on not working!

Use software to block distracting websites or the internet entirely (Freedom is great for that). Tell yourself that you can read that blog, check twitter, or IM with your chatty friend during your next break or when you’ve achieved your desired task.

For more great tips about being mindful and getting more done, check out Leo Babauta’s latest book Focus – available as both a free download PDF or a paid edition with bonus content.

Photo Credit: RickyDavid

When I was younger, I wrote a lot of letters. Most of them were to professional athletes. The pattern was always the same: Write a letter, stuff a baseball card or photo into the envelope, send it and wait. I was after one thing: a signature.

The majority of those envelopes were met with silence. But some came back, with a name scrawled in glorious black ink across the image. What was once a piece of cardboard was now a work of art; its signatory transformed from an athlete into an idol.

What’s in a name?

What is an autograph? Why do we place such value on the signing of a name?

It’s not the scribble of a sharpie on the photo that instantly multiplies its value. Nor is it the signature, the shape of the words, or the style of the writing. In fact, if someone else were to make the exact same marking, with the exact same marker, the photo would be defaced and plummet in value.

Why?

The value of the autograph is not in the signature, the photo, or the marker. The gold comes from the fact that someone paid enough attention to participate in an experience.

While we’re on this philosophical trip, let’s take this a bit further…

You can’t duplicate authenticity

What if we wanted to duplicate our prized signed photo? Fire up the photocopiers and produce an identical clone. This one is easy and obvious – the copy is completely devoid of all value.

Yet if our super famous celebrity signed two identical photos, each is granted the hallowed magical status.

Why?

Collectors refer to this as authenticity. You can’t photocopy attention, you can’t duplicate a moment. The interactions have to be unique.

The moral of the story

All of the fuss that we make about autographs boils down to this:

We place incredible value on authentically unique moments of attention paid by individuals of perceived importance.

The value is entirely in the interaction. The actual signature simply serves as proof that it occurred.

Put your signature to work

Here are some thoughts on how to apply this to your business:

We’re all stars, sometimes. You don’t have to make movies or sing pop songs to be important. In the time of need… at the point of sale…in moments of confusion, your importance skyrockets. To someone whose cable was broken, Frank Eliason might as well have been a super hero.

Be on high alert – Keep your eyes and ears open for moments where your attention can increase your value. Twitter search and google alerts get all the fame these days – but giving people attention is equally valuable in your store or on the street.

Sign authentically. Every time - People can detect a fraud from a mile away. Even if you’re answering the same question for the hundredth time, don’t hand out photocopies. Value requires authenticity. Blue Sky Factory does a great job creating authentic customer experiences.

Grow more arms – Chris Brogan talks about growing bigger ears. But that’s only half of the equation. Signing autographs all day long takes energy. It takes strength. It takes time. To finish the play authentically, as the number of potential interactions increase, organizations have to grow more arms.

How much time and money is your organization spending on becoming famous?

Are you putting an equal amount of thought into what is happens when you get there?

What is more important than either of those discussions is understanding the way that traditional media broke us.

The break wasn’t violent, so we probably didn’t notice. It happened over time, and carried with it some wonderful side effects. Broadcast media allowed our messages to travel far and wide, with borrowed influence of respected publications.

We got starstruck. We got hooked. We forgot.

We are them

We became dependent on the ability of a few to tell our stories. We forgot that we could tell them ourselves. We forgot that every day people don’t read press releases, they read every day things. We forgot that we could speak directly to these every day people about those every day things. They link between us and them is not the press – the secret is that we are them, and our bonds are shared values and experiences.

We forgot that we’re the real experts. We forgot that we have the authentic perspectives and the true knowledge within our organizations. Journalists and reporters try to tell our stories from the outside looking in. If we all lived on Pandora, then we’re the ones wearing the big blue suits. Journalists are looking for stories, while we live them every day.

Don’t stop

Write your press releases, but then write more. Release your trailer, and then make the film. Tell the whole story. Often. And then tell another. Put them in high traffic spaces, let people share them.

People will come

Telling your own stories has a wonderfully addictive side effect of its own. People will come. People will talk about you, converse with you, and want to share your ideas with eachother.

Know what journalists are always drawn to, even more than a press release on a wire?
A crowd.

So go build one

Hammers are great tools. There’s something satisfying about a nice sharp nail sinking into wood. That’s the great thing about hammers – repetitive simplicity, with great results: as long as you swing hard enough, you’ll accomplish your goal every time. Wonderfully, mindless work. Swing after swing after swing.

Until you encounter a nail that’s not so straight, a board that’s not so true, or, worst of all; something that a nail can’t fix.

Carpenters

Carpenters can do more than swing hammers. There’s something satisfying about wearing a belt full of tools, and knowing you can build big things according to plan. That’s the great thing about carpenters – give them a map and the necessary materials, and they’ll transform a blueprint into a palace. Wonderfully capable workers. Blueprint after blueprint after blueprint.

Until you need some extra rooms, find a flaw in the plan, or worst of all, run out of blueprints entirely.

Architects

Architects can do more than follow directions. There’s something satisfying about the confidence of solving new problems, strategically sketching and considering different ways of doing things. That’s the great thing about architects – give them a blank canvas and a goal, and they’ll take care of the rest. Wonderfully strategic work. Solution after solution after solution.

Who are you?

Being a hammer-swinger is as easy as falling in love with Foursquare, Twitter or Facebook. Hammer swingers close their eyes and swing their favourite tool at every problem. Understandably, these folks produce as many holes in walls as they do homeruns.

Being a carpenter is more difficult. When presented with a plan, you use your well worn tool belt to tackle the plans placed in front of you.

Being an architect allows you to solve new problems, define objectives and map strategies. We desperately need more architects, if we’re ever going to drown out the sounds of all the banging hammers.

Are you swinging hammers, using tools, or building maps? Regardless of where you stand on the spectrum, what are you doing to hone your craft?

Think back to high school math class, or a university physics course. Somewhere along the way, on a test or final exam, we’ve all seen this, scrawled in red ink…

Show your work!

For most of us, this was a startling realization. Until we got to this point, we were convinced that school was about getting the answer right. But the requirement of showing your work, shifted the focus to getting the process right.

This underrated concept is actually one of the most important things you ever learned in math class; because we can apply it well beyond numbers.

A philosopher recognizes the journey is more important than the destination. A marathon runner will tell you that the training is more rewarding than the finish line.

As marketers, we need to recognize that there’s more to life than the finished product.

There’s value in the process

When Paul Durham was creating the new Black Lab album “Two Strangers”, he recognized he was facing an uphill battle in rapidly changing industry. To put it bluntly, Paul is trying to sell a product that many potential customers regularly find elsewhere for free.

In a typical record release, an album would be created very privately, and only when it was perfect and final, would it be put up for sale. Paul’s actions were very different – releasing demos and videos of the work in progress, bringing fans along for the ride.

By showing the process, fans not only get a piece of entertainment, and feel like they’re “on the inside”, but they also understand the work that goes into creating the final product. Instead of seeing a CD on a shelf, they are witnesses to the birth of art work.

Listen to the final version (disclosure: Paul is a friend). Now that you’ve seen the artist at work, are you more inclined to buy the album rather than finding it on Limewire?

Say Goodbye

There is value in the process.

Even if you’re the best

When it comes to iPad cases, many will tell you that dodocase is in a league of their own. Quality, style, trendiness, they’ve got it all. However, at $60 per case, this startup has also priced themselves much higher than their established competitors. How then have they managed to sell 10,000 cases in 180 days??

Instead of just saying that they’re the best, and listing their quality craftsmanship as part of a spec sheet – dodocase lets you inside their workshop. They let you see each piece going together. They educate you about what makes them different. They show their work.

There’s more to the story than the finished product

If a question on a math test is worth a maximum of 5 marks, and you simply state the correct answer, chances are, you won’t get 100%. You’ll actually do worse than someone who visibly nails the process, but gets the answer wrong.

Simply telling people that your stuff is the best is akin to copying the answers from the back of the book. Without the story, the proof, the sweat; you don’t demonstrate mastery – you’re just checking the final box and hoping they believe you.

In math, in marketing, in life – full marks and gold stars are given for the creativity, precision and hard work that led you to your obviously excellent product.

Think about the people, products and organizations that you trust and admire as being the best. Do they just tell you that they have all the answers, or in some way, are they winning you over by showing their work?

Photo Credit: Billaday

The evil faces of worry

Ever leave a project until the last minute? Think back to those book reports in high school, or exams in university – there’s some worry there. That’s an easy one.
This worry is the fear that things won’t get done.

Once upon a time, in an effort to feel more organized, I decided work new speeches for projects that were still months out. After beating my head against the wall for countless days, with no drive, no ideas and no motivation – I realized I had discovered a new trigger for worrying.
This worry was the fear that the work would never come.

These two can be paralyzing, demoralizing and destructive. Avoid them at all costs.

The worry that works

Live in your own skin and have enough successes, and you’ll hopefully find the worry that works.

Worry with too little time left to spare and you’ve got procrastination.

Worry without enough pressure and you’ve got anxiety.

Worrying at the right time means you’re focused, driven and working on something worthwhile.

Look back at the times when you’ve done your best work and felt the magic happen. Think about when you feel a surge of energy about a project, rather than sickening adrenaline or bored apathy.
It’s a different set of circumstances for everyone, but there’s a sweet spot for all of us.

Know thyself

Me? I’m a bit of a last minute person. I like the kick of feeling things come together just in time. So, I don’t try to push production early on. I use that time for thinking, filling my mind and notebooks with concepts that I will have at my disposal later on. This means I don’t fret as the deadline approaches; I can wait until the timing is right. Then the pieces just seem to fall into place.

At least you care

The secret is to believe in yourself. Trust that great work will be there when it counts. Couple your worry with confidence – and you’ve paired energy with strength.

Above all, realize this: If you didn’t worry, it means you don’t care. And that’s an existence that none of us should aspire to have.